Implementation and Scale-Up of Psycho-Trauma Centers in a Post-Conflict Area: A Case Study of a Private–Public Partnership in Northern Uganda

As one article in an ongoing series on Global Mental Health Practice, Etheldreda Nakimuli-Mpungu and colleagues describe a private-public partnership that implemented and scaled psycho-trauma centers in Northern Uganda

Applying Rapid Qualitative Analysis for Health Equity: Lessons Learned Using “EARS” With Latino Communities

Qualitative research amplifies the voices of marginalized communities and thus plays a critical role in shaping our understanding of health inequities and their social determinants. Traditional qualitative approaches, such as grounded theory or thematic analysis, require extensive training and are time- and labor-intensive; as such, they may not be adequately suited to address healthy equity issues that require a swift response. Rapid qualitative analysis (RQA) is an action-oriented approach to qualitative data analysis that may be used when findings are needed to quickly inform practice. RQA capitalizes on using a team to summarize key points from qualitative data into matrices to explore relevant themes efficiently and systematically. In this paper, we provide case examples from our work applying RQA to health equity research with Latino communities to address community needs, such as responses to public health emergencies and the development of service delivery and technology interventions for infectious and chronic diseases. We draw from our collective experiences to share lessons learned and provide the following specific recommendations (“EARS”) to researchers interested in applying RQA for health equity research: (1) Employ RQA to address rapidly evolving, urgent, health equity challenges; (2) Assure quality and rigor throughout the RQA process; (3) Respond to barriers and problem-solve as needed; and (4) Strengthen community relationships before, during, and after using RQA. Overall, we advocate for the use of RQA to promote health equity due to its ability to integrate the vital perspectives of marginalized communities and efficiently respond to their needs

The impact of group counseling on depression, post-traumatic stress and function outcomes: A prospective comparison study in the Peter C. Alderman trauma clinics in northern Uganda

AbstractBackgroundThe effectiveness of group interventions for adults with mental distress in post-conflict settings is less clear in sub-Saharan Africa.AimTo assess the impact of group counseling intervention on depression, post-traumatic stress and function outcomes among adults attending the Peter C. Alderman Foundation (PCAF) trauma clinics in northern Uganda.Methods631 War affected adults were enrolled into PCAF trauma clinics. Using a quasi-experimental design, assessments were conducted at baseline, at 3 and 6 months following initiation of care. Multivariate longitudinal regression models were used to determine change in depression, post-traumatic stress and function scores over time among group counseling participants and non-participants.ResultsIn comparison to non-participants, participants had faster reduction in depression scores during the 6-month follow-up period [β=−1.84, 95%CI (−3.38 to −0.30), p=0.019] and faster reduction in post-traumatic stress scores during the 3-month follow-up period [β=−2.14, 95%CI (−4.21 to −0.10), p=0.042]. At 3-month follow up, participants who attended two or more sessions had faster increase in function scores [β=3.51, 95%CI (0.61–6.40), p=0.018] than participants who attended only one session.LimitationsSelection bias due to the use of non-random samples. Substantial attrition rates and small sample sizes may have resulted in insufficient statistical power to determine meaningful differences.ConclusionThe group counseling intervention offered in the PCAF clinics may have considerable mental health benefits over time. There is need for more research to structure, standardize and test the efficacy of this intervention using a randomized controlled trial

Longitudinal analysis of depression symptom scores, post-traumatic stress symptom scores and functioning scores over time (N = 375).

‡<p><i>p</i>-value≤0.05.</p>†<p>0.05<<i>p</i>-value<0.10.</p

Percentage of individuals with high depression scores (SRQ scores>6), high PTSD scores (HTQ scores≥30), and high function scores (≥8) assessed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months.

<p>Percentage of individuals with high depression scores (SRQ scores>6), high PTSD scores (HTQ scores≥30), and high function scores (≥8) assessed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months.</p

Migration and the Built Environment - Abstract, Projects, Conference Proceedings, Atti del Simposio Internazionale Caumme III/Paumme I, Napoli, novembre 24-25, 2016

The phenomenon of migration is as ancient as human socialization. However, in the last decades both phenomena have become a top political and discursive concern in many countries. The contemporary, more international dimension of migration and the spread of media perfectly epitomizes the “liquid” character of the present: something that changes in a constant fashion, but remains hard to contextualize. The global nature of migrations, linked to their increasing articulation, has been the object of widespread scholarly interest, especially in the humanities, to the point that the social scientists S. Castles e M.J. Miller define the last decades as “the migration era”, even if other, earlier historical periods witnessed even more numerous flows. It is unquestionable that, starting from World War I, migration has assumed a global character that has intensified in the last decade. This global dimension is linked to the host of different places involved in the two directions of the flow, to the formation of multiple migratory systems, to the amplification of the transnational character and, the transformation of the landscape of the transit places. Further, focusing on the long period, the transformations appear to affect even the destination places, as populations bring along their customs, behaviors, cultures and techniques. Such mutations involve numerous aspects beyond the anthropological, physical and spatial ones. They also affect the built environment and the processes of construction and representation of both cities and their architecture. CAUMME III - 2016 addresses a number of relevant concerns regarding the relationship between architecture, urbanism and migrations. What are the relevant impacts of migration on the host communities? What anthropological effects are linked to these phenomena? Are architectural aesthetics, the material use and the building techniques going to mutate under the pressure of migration? How is the urban landscape being transformed by flows of migration? What is happening to the housing environments? What kind of relationships are forming between transformation processes of the built environment and the social system in the presence of migrant communities

Starlikeness of Libera transformation (II) (Applications of Complex Function Theory to Differential Equations)

The GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product 2017 (IDP2017) is the second publicly available data product of the international GEOTRACES programme, and contains data measured and quality controlled before the end of 2016. The IDP2017 includes data from the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, Southern and Indian oceans, with about twice the data volume of the previous IDP2014. For the first time, the IDP2017 contains data for a large suite of biogeochemical parameters as well as aerosol and rain data characterising atmospheric trace element and isotope (TEI) sources. The TEI data in the IDP2017 are quality controlled by careful assessment of intercalibration results and multi-laboratory data comparisons at crossover stations. The IDP2017 consists of two parts: (1) a compilation of digital data for more than 450 TEIs as well as standard hydrographic parameters, and (2) the eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas providing an on-line atlas that includes more than 590 section plots and 130 animated 3D scenes. The digital data are provided in several formats, including ASCII, Excel spreadsheet, netCDF, and Ocean Data View collection. Users can download the full data packages or make their own custom selections with a new on-line data extraction service. In addition to the actual data values, the IDP2017 also contains data quality flags and 1-σ data error values where available. Quality flags and error values are useful for data filtering and for statistical analysis. Metadata about data originators, analytical methods and original publications related to the data are linked in an easily accessible way. The eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas is the visual representation of the IDP2017 as section plots and rotating 3D scenes. The basin-wide 3D scenes combine data from many cruises and provide quick overviews of large-scale tracer distributions. These 3D scenes provide geographical and bathymetric context that is crucial for the interpretation and assessment of tracer plumes near ocean margins or along ridges. The IDP2017 is the result of a truly international effort involving 326 researchers from 25 countries. This publication provides the critical reference for unpublished data, as well as for studies that make use of a large cross-section of data from the IDP2017. This article is part of a special issue entitled: Conway GEOTRACES - edited by Tim M. Conway, Tristan Horner, Yves Plancherel, and Aridane G. González